The present invention relates generally to apparatus for retaining fish bait therein and submerging the apparatus and fish bait in a manner to permit water to draw out individual particles of fish bait so as to attract fish, and relates more particularly to a device of this nature that further incorporates means for collecting the fish bait withdrawn from the apparatus so that smaller fish might feed on said bait, and further incorporates means for protecting the smaller fish from larger fish while the smaller fish are feeding on the fish bait.
Heretofore various devices have been utilized to lure or otherwise attract fish to a designated area. These devices have generally taken the form of a container of some sort either being formed of a wire mesh type material, or a basically rigid container having sufficient holes therein to permit fish bait to exit the container in order to attract the fish. Some of these devices have been shaped in the form of a fish, and/or included fish hooks positioned thereon (as in the case of lures) in order to snag the fish when the fish attempts to eat the fish bait contained with the device. Others of these devices have simply taken the form of containers for "feeding" the fish in order to attract the fish so that the fishermen might attempt to thereafter catch the fish on individually baited hooks.
These previously used fish attracting devices have the following drawbacks:
(1) The fish food that exits the device falls directly to the lake or stream bottom where it is picked up and eaten by fish attracted to the general area. In so doing, the attracted fish thereby avoid the bait placed upon the fisherman's hook suspended within a certain range of depth (generally the depth of the fish attracting device container) where the fisherman feels he is most likely to attract and catch fish. The fish attracted to the area simply feed on the falling/fallen fish food while avoiding that on the fisherman's hook; and
(2) Smaller fish that are attracted to the fish attracting device are eaten by larger fish which, of course, defeats the initial purpose of the fish attracting device by eliminating the smaller fish and preventing them from growing into larger fish, and by satisfying the hunger of the larger fish before the fish has had the opportunity to attempt to eat from the fisherman's hook.